Maravi

Zain retrenches 96

Zain retrenches 96
Written by Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Sunday, May 10, 2009 5:20:55 PM

ZAIN Zambia Plc has laid off 96 employees with immediate effect.
In a statement issued on Friday, Zain Zambia managing director David Holliday stated that 58 of the staff affected were permanent employees while 38 were casual workers. The 96 employees pruned by Zain Zambia are out of the company’s total workforce of 700.

“As part of these changes, Zain Zambia is shedding 96 jobs with immediate effect. Zain Zambia expects the reduction in the number of staff to be achieved through a combination of redeployment, non-renewal of contracts, and redundancies,” Holliday stated.

He added that the decision to lay off some of the workers was in line with similar changes being carried out at in all Zain operations in the Middle East and Africa.

He stated that the new method of operation would involve centralisation of capabilities across all of Zain's 23 operations in order to maximise economies of scale and realise significant efficiencies and cost savings. “Zain has undertaken a review of its operations to ensure it is best able to deliver improved services and quality to its customers, and to make sure we can do this as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible,” Holliday stated. “The goal of the revisions was to make sure Zain had the right structure in place across all its operational areas to address market challenges in Zambia going forwards, and to align itself with the recently announced ‘Drive 2011’ group-wide plans for greater efficiency.”

Holliday also stated that Zain Zambia Plc would be working closely with employees to assist with the transition and also ensure that any impacted employees were treated with respect and dignity consistent with the company’s values.

According to the statement, since 2005, Zain has invested more than US $12 billion in Africa, and in excess of US $500 million in Zambia. And for this year alone, Zain will pump in more than US $1 billion of investments in its networks in Africa as part of the Company's drive to bring the latest world class technology to its customers.

Last week, Zain Group announced that it would align its head office and operations structures in accordance with the new operating model and that the move would result in Zain reducing its current 15,500 global workforce by 2,000, a reduction equivalent to a 13 per cent across the board.

Labels: JOBLOSSES, ZAIN ZAMBIA LIMITED PLC

posted by MrK @ 4:23 PM